Chapter 30
Thirty
Llew
B eing in a room with this many other Alphas was grating on my control, but there was no way I’d leave my Omegas alone in here, or leave my Packmates outnumbered. So I sucked it up and when we got to their hotel suite, I sat on the furthest wall with my eyes on the door and Polly in my lap. I also had August tucked close. Neither of them protested, like they could sense I needed this.
In the end, all the others needed from Polly was information. Things that had changed in the years since Henry had left. The routine. Where people slept, ate, and the weapons they possessed. It was hard watching Polly now second-guess everything she’d seen. The guns that rested on the sides of the building hadn’t been to keep out monsters. They were to prevent people coming to help, because the Leaders were the monsters. The people she’d regarded as parental figures had all had lives outside the walls of the Homestead, and suddenly, she was questioning every single interaction.
“They all lied so easily,” she said to me softly, and I held her tighter, pressing her closer to my body like I could absorb her pain through symbiosis.
August kissed the side of her head. “It’s likely that they’ve detached from reality and truly believed the things they were telling you.”
She looked completely wrung out by the time they circled back around to things she’d already told them, and I decided that was enough. I was taking her home to our Packhouse, where she was safe. I stood, not letting her out of my arms. “We’re done.”
Kross didn’t protest, merely stood as well. The rest of the Pack gathered at my back, and Polly wiggled until I set her on her feet. Walking over to stand in front of her, Kross dipped his head. “I’m sorry that I caused you so much trauma, Omega. I’m not perfect, and neither was the situation. I was doing the best I could, but I’m Alpha enough to admit that my best just wasn’t good enough.” He looked at me and the men around me. Her Pack. “I’m glad that you actually have a chance at happiness now. From what Henry’s told me, the Homestead’s views on Omegas have only gotten worse since I left. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemies.”
Polly was more gracious than I ever could be. I doubted I could ever forgive someone who caused her even a moment of pain. But she wasn’t me; she was better than us all. “You did what you thought was right. It’s all any of us can do.”
Shaking my head, I envied her that sweet nature right then. Because we all knew there was more that could be done, and if I judged by Kross’s cold expression, he was going to do it with extreme prejudice.
I let Polly go long enough for her to walk over to the other Alpha, Henry, and hug him. My Alpha didn’t like it, though I kept telling myself that there wasn’t anything romantic between them. Looking between them, though—Henry with his straight, dark brows and blue eyes—they looked almost like siblings than friends.
August leaned in close. “Do you see the similarities too?” I nodded. He cleared his throat. “So, you guys don’t know who your parents are?”
Henry shook his head. “No, they believed that children belonged to the village. I assume there must be some record somewhere, if they had any foresight, and some of the older members would obviously know, but if we ever asked, we were quickly shut down.”
“And you guys are the same age?” August pressed, and I watched Kross tilt his head, understanding dawning on his face.
“There were several of us raised in a group, though I couldn’t tell you our actual ages with any certainty. I’m only basing mine off a guess and the age I went through my designation,” Henry answered.
Jewel was eyeing them too now, and that little Omega had a sharp mind and a fierce gaze. Where Polly was soft, I doubted Jewel had any softness left. She looked over at August appraisingly. “You think they’re twins?”
August nodded. “Even their scents are complimentary. Jasmine, but hers is kind of sweet, where Henry’s is a little spicier, maybe woodsy?”
Jewel tilted her head and nodded. Omegas were very sensitive to scents, even more so than Alphas. But now August mentioned it, I could sense the similarities in their scents, as well as their appearance.
Polly blinked up at Henry, looking at his face as if she’d never seen it before. “We didn’t have mirrors; I never knew what I looked like to know if we looked similar. But Nim never said anything, nor did any of the other kids.”
“Nim was raised with us. We probably looked wildly different to someone who’d seen me try and grow a moustache at twelve,” Henry joked, but I could see the sadness on his face. He was clearly holding it in for Polly.
She threw back her head and laughed. “It looked like dirt on your lip. Nim was planning to shave it off while you slept if you let it go much longer.” She looked over at us, then stepped away. “I don’t know if we’re related, or twins, or anything like that. But I’d like to know later—after we get Nim out of there.”
Henry gripped her hands. “I’ll bring her back to us, Paloma. I promise. I won’t stop until we’re all safe and happy.”
Polly nodded, her eyes getting shiny with tears, and I’d had enough. I walked over and wrapped her in my arms, before reaching out, putting a heavy hand on Henry’s shoulder. “I hope it’s true, but it doesn’t matter either way. You’re family to Polly, which means you’re family to us.”
“I can’t bury you again,” she whispered, which broke my heart once more.
Henry nodded solemnly, but he didn’t promise. I respected him more for it. Things could go sideways on missions like this, and Polly had been lied to enough for one lifetime.
I bundled both Polly and August out of the suite, holding open the elevator doors as Rio and Max brought up the rear. I moved over to the corner where, unsurprisingly, Polly turned into my body and climbed me like a tree, wrapping her arms and legs around my body as her tears soaked the curve of my neck.
“You held it together so well, my brave Omega,” I crooned.
“It’s so bad, Llew. So much wasted time. So much needless hurt,” she sniffled, as I stroked up and down her back, holding her close. I looked at Max and Rio, seeing the helpless anger on their faces. They would do what was right for our Omega, and put down the people that hurt her.
The Leaders and the Homestead would receive their retribution, and it would be all because of an Omega they’d thrown away like trash.
In the end, Rio and Max only came home for long enough to get Polly settled and grab their gear. August insisted he had to return home, because he was due back at work, but I hated having him out of my sight when things were so uncertain, even knowing that there was no threat to him. To my Alpha, August was already ours, so he needed our protection. It was a hard pill to swallow that he didn’t really need us, and despite going through Polly’s heat together, he wasn’t officially Pack.
Yet.
Everyone had left less than two hours ago, and I knew it would be a long few days. Rio and Max would meet Kross and his group in Arkansas, and it would take at least a half a day or more to get there. They’d take the long route, checking into a hotel in St. Louis, but not staying there for long. Then they’d drive through the night to a town just over the border and head down to where the Homestead was buried in the mountains. From there, the others had called in a few helpers, who had strong feelings on the mistreatment of children and Omegas, as well as less-than-stellar morals. Together, they’d go in and shut down the Homestead for good.
According to Max, the plan was to deliver the Leaders—and those who’d wilfully looked the other way—on the doorstep of police in Little Rock, along with so much irrefutable evidence, they’d be forced to open an investigation. I just hoped it didn’t lead back to Polly.
Right now, though, it was just me and a scared Omega in my Packhouse. We’d retreated to my suite, and I was showing her all my favorite movies from the last two decades. Max had stored enough food in the fridge that we wouldn’t have to do anything more strenuous than reheat stuff in the oven.
“Why didn’t you and the guys have a bond?”
I wanted to brush off the question, distract her with something else, something happier and more pleasant. But I’d promised myself I’d never lie to her, even by omission.
“When Rio was in the military, his humvee was blown up, and he was captured by enemy insurgents. He was taken and tortured for information for a little over ten days. Much like our connection, my bond with Rio was rare. It meant that I felt every moment of his pain. I worked out that using our bond, I could shield him from that, and I did. However, when they brought him home, our bond had burned out, as well as my one to Max. It had worked so hard to protect our Pack that it just… fizzled. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to bond you back after your Omega went rogue, because no matter how we tried after Rio returned, it was too broken to repair.”
She didn’t say anything for a long time, her head just resting on my chest. I could see the fluttering of her eyelashes on her round cheeks. She looked less gaunt and starved already, her soft Omega curves making her even more irresistible. Finally, she rolled over so she was looking up at me. “I think I can do it. I want to do it.”
“Do what, Sweet Thing?”
“Bond us all back together. Our bond is strong, as is my bond with Rio and Max. I think if you try to bond them again, maybe it’ll work because the links are already there, if fainter for you. When the time is right, we should try and bond again.” A smile curled her lips. “Maybe when we bond with August. It’s meant to be, Llew. I can feel it in my soul.”
A wave of pure gratitude washed over me. “I believe you. There’s nothing you can’t do, Polly Barrie.” I hugged her tightly. “Now, how are we going to court our Omega? I vote you just turn up naked, dipped in chocolate sauce, and say ‘Be Mine?’ We should practice that now.”
She giggled and slapped my chest, and I held her close, this angel that I didn’t deserve.